Three recent big-winning Illinois lottery tickets were purchased at separate stores all within 20 miles of each other in suburban Chicago. The prizes totaled $13 million.
The bulk of that win was one scratch-off ticket bought in Niles, northeast of downtown Chicago, which hit for $12 million.
The 20 Years of Cash ticket was purchased at a Jewel-Osco store on March 29. The winner told the Illinois Lottery that their family had previously been disapproving of their lottery purchases.
Two days earlier, a $1 million Mega Millions jackpot-winning ticket was sold twenty miles away in Bartlett. That ticket was split between an office pool of 40 people.
Then, on Monday April 1, a $50,000 winning ticket was also sold in Bartlett, just 1.5 miles from where the million dollar ticket was purchased.
Nationwide, no one won the main Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot prize, so both will roll over until later this week.
20 Years of Cash
The $12 million scratch-off winner revealed that their family previously criticized their lottery purchases. It got to the point some family members didn’t believe the winner when they first told them.
The winner’s son said that he had to visit in-person to verify the win.
As per the name of the winning ticket, the prize will be paid out in $50,000 increments over 20 years.
“It feels like it was fate,” the winner told the Illinois Lottery.
“I was actually about to purchase a different ticket when I noticed the 20 Years of Cash ticket number matched my birthday, so I decided to try that one. Boy, am I glad I did!”
The fortunate winner plans to spend a good chunk of their newfound money on an extended family vacation.
Mega Millions and Powerball Winners
In the same time period, just 20 miles away across suburban Chicagoland, the biggest U.S. lotteries both handed out large prizes.
First, one player bought a $1 million winning ticket at an RT 59 Gasoline station at 1100 Sterns Rd. in Bartlett.
Donald Gant was the lucky winner, although he is due to share his prize with 39 other coworkers in his office pool.
“I said ‘Hey, you know, the lottery is over a billion dollars,’ so I said ‘Hey guys, let’s get together, let’s try to see if we can win,” Gant said, speaking to NBC Chicago.
Days later, Monday April 1, another player had an unexpected windfall on April Fools Day when they bought a $50,000 winning ticket at Mr. Quick-Ezz in Bartlett. That’s just one and a half miles away from where Gant bought his $1 million ticket.
At Monday and Tuesday’s draw, two Illinois players also hit $50,000 and $100,000 prizes after buying their tickets online.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
